Edwin van der Sar almost signed for Liverpool in 1999.
In fact, he was our first-choice that summer before Gerard Houllier turned to his Dutch countryman Sander Westerveld instead…
At the time, van der sar had been with Ajax for nine years and was entering his peak aged 29, but he decided to join Juventus in Italy instead.
“When I left Ajax in 1999, I travelled to Liverpool and spoke to Houllier,” the 46-year-old tells the November 2017 issue of FourFourTwo magazine.
“I was shown around Anfield and also met with the chairman and a couple of the players. I thought about it, but when Juventus came to the table I came to the conclusion that it would be a bigger challenge to play in Italy.”
Two years later, Juve signed Gianluigi Buffon, arguably the greatest goalkeeper of modern times, and van der Sar moved to Fulham (oddly) before Manchester United secured him.
Under Ferguson, he won four Premier League titles and the Champions League.
We’d absolutely love a keeper of van der Sar’s ability between our sticks now, but throughout his spell with United – we had Pepe Reina – who at the time, was rated as a better goalkeeper.
Jerzey Dudek before the Spaniard was underrated, helping us win the Champions League…
We look forward to a day where we have complete trust in Liverpool’s no.1 once again, as neither Simon Mignolet or Loris Karius look like elite options short or long-term.